TYPEWRITER PRINT STARTS PRINTMAKING UNIT

Printmaking Unit Begins with Rubber Carved Stamps

One of the many joys of being an art teacher is getting to play around with all sorts of art projects.  I teach a variety of classes.  My first class of the day is a crafting class for seniors.  It is so much fun to start each day with this happy bunch.  We do collage, paper mache', make handmade paper, weaving - all kinds of non-drawing projects.

This week we started printmaking.  I have lots of examples (after 15 years in the classroom) but each new unit requires I demonstrate the assignment steps.  I decided to create a funky little typewriter.  We are using rubber plates (I call them eraser prints and sometimes we even use Pink Pearl erasers) to start our unit.  We will gradually move on to more difficult linoleum plates that hold up better and let us print on all sorts of surfaces.

After showing my students how to create a successful design, transfer it, carve it safely and ink it with an ink pad or magic markers I remembered that long, long ago I purchased some mini alphabet stamps out of a $1 bin at a craft store.  Now I've got a use for those tiny letters....they look like old typewriter font so they work great as a personal message on the paper. 

Just wanted to share what's on my desk today.